The Dragon of the Deep Forest: Sidestories & Stuff
by testament5524
Summary: Sister project of The Dragon of the Deep Forest. Contains side stories and... stuff that, for some reason, could not make it to the main fic. Recommend reading the Dragon of the Deep Forest to better understand this one.
1. Chapter 60:  Messups

**(Bloopers) ****Chapter 60 – The Last Monday of Winter, Part 2**

**-Boy Leaves Girl- **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

—Nobody Told Me About It!—

_(Lin, Zhong, and Yuu had to leave Yoku behind as they escaped their pursuers; only to have the soldiers caught up to them as they reached Lin's ship.)_

"There's the ship!" Yuu heaved, pointing at the skiff that was parked on the edge of the beach.

He and the two others had been on the run for approximately an hour after they had to leave Yoku behind. They were tired but they had no time to waste. Led by Yuu, they pushed the vehicle back to the water, leaving a trail on the sandy beach. Just as they got to the water ankle deep, a shout from the beach snapped them of their work.

"You there! Stop!" a uniformed soldier shouted; he was leading a small group of people towards them.

"Get on", Zhong ordered Lin; Lin complied. Yuu drew Petal from his sheath while Zhong readied his Viper on his waist; Lin, however, was stricken by the fact that there were some soldiers who managed to get to them even with Yoku staying behind holding the line. _They must be a different group_, he frantically convinced himself. _There is no way Yoku would lose to anyone, right…?_

"Lin, go!" Yuu exclaimed; looking back, he grinned at Lin. "And don't worry about us. Just go and don't look back."

"I'm sorry, guys", Lin choked. He knew he had to go but leaving his friends just like that felt so… _wrong_.

But there was nothing more he could do; he could only trust. And besides, he had a much much more important thing to do. Steeling his heart against his conscience, Lin set the course away from the shore, leaving his two companions standing between him and the myriad of enemies. And, just as Yuu told him to, he didn't look back…

It felt wrong…

"Oh, and Liiiiinnnn!" Yuu's voice traveled through the distance to his ear. "We'll say goodbye to Oboro for yooooouuu!"

—BOOM—

"What the— Zhong, you idiot! You said that ship has no weapon!"

* * *

—The Forgotten—

_(General Kargai and his army of a hundred had Piandao, Shin, Ren, and Fat surrounded.)_

"You are heavily outnumbered! I have a hundred men on my side and you only have four! Surrender at once!" Kargai spat.

"Hmm, speaking of which, Master", Ren frowned, appeared to be in deep thought. "Didn't you defeat a hundred elite Royal Procession all by yourself five years ago?"

_Eh…?_ Kargai felt a punch on his gut. He had forgotten this fact…

"Right", Shin concurred. "And this is winter too, the season when firebenders are at their weakest."

_Oh, right…_ another jolt on Kargai's gut, this time accompanied by cold sweat and a sudden realization.

"And now, I have both of you on my side, two of my best students", Piandao added proudly. Turning to Kargai, he flashed the dumbstruck general a subtle threatening gaze. "Still think you can take us on?"

And while he and his two students stood tall and proud, basking in a glorified light that was randomly there, Fat was on a dark corner somewhere, sulking…

"Master, what about me?" the butler sniffed. "I'm your student too, right…?"

* * *

—The One-Eyed Dragon—

_(Midnight, in her room, Young Lady Mai contemplated…)_

It was night, midnight. The temperature went down a few degrees since that evening when she finally arrived home, enough to turn her breath into vapor. Rarely did Mai feel so glad being in her boring but properly heated room, that night was one of those rare occasions. She was sitting absentmindedly on her bed, twirling a sharp throwing knives (that she kept hidden from her mom) almost lazily; already in her sleeping robe and her blanket, her usual hair buns untied, her long hair flowed freely over her shoulder. But she couldn't sleep. That afternoon in Piandao's School of Swordsmanship had been the closest she had ever got to a real fight. She had actually spotted the black-hooded figure before anybody did and what had she done about it? She froze…

Why did she freeze? She had had his weapons with her, she was proud of her skill, she knew her skill was for real. She could hit a fly on the wall with one shot of her throwing knife, her ten-shots-ten-hits record still stood unbroken. And when it came to the real fight, she froze!

A rattling sound from one of her opened window snapped her of her thought momentarily. Though it was stormy outside, with wind blowing strong enough to blow a mid-sized child away, she let one of her windows opened. She liked it that way; the cold wind on one side of the room and the warm heater on the other side. She remembered how Ty Lee once mentioned that it was probably one of the reasons why Mai was so cold, because she always had the inclination towards 'cold stuffs' like stormy winds, ice cream, or bathing with cold water in the morning. The fact that she was actually born in winter only reinforced the idea; heck, even Lin thought so when he learnt Mai's birthday from Ty Lee and Azula.

And as she noticed the dark shadow creeping on the corner of her room, she threw her knife without the slightest of hesitation!

—STABBED—

"My eye!"

* * *

—Unnecessarily Detailed—

_(It was the goodbye, probably the last, between a father and his son… Jiang and Lin.)_

"Not even a game before you go?" he offered, patting the folded Pai Sho board on the table.

"I can't, Dad", Lin shook his head. "I have things to do before I go. I'm just here to say goodbye."

"…Son, sit down", Jiang ordered. He looked more solemn.

"Dad, I—"

"No buts. Sit down."

Lin frowned a little at his father before he sat down again. Jiang spent the next few seconds in silence scrutinizing his son, noticing how older and more mature he had become; no longer the snotty ten year old brat who could always made him feel proud and irritated at the same time. No longer his son he had abandoned for ten years, ten years he had been lost forever. And now that he thought he finally got his chance to make up for those lost ten years, ten years that he could never get back, his son was taken away from him. It wasn't fair…

"Son, listen to me", Jiang started, sounded unusually tired. "I know that I have not always been there for you. You had to grow up without knowing how it feels like to be loved by your father and it was all my fault—no, let me finish!"

Lin closed his mouth, respecting his father's order. Jiang continued.

"And just when I thought I could make up for it, you have to leave", Jiang sighed. "You don't know how sorry I feel, how useless I think of myself as your father. I cannot protect you from the world anymore, nor have I prepared you enough for it, I am very very sorry, son…"

He waited for Lin's respond but the boy had none to offer.

"The only one you can depend on now is General Iroh", Jiang continued. Was it an angry flame that just passed his son's eyes…? I must be sleepy, Jiang told himself. I'm starting to hallucinate. "I don't know why but I think he's on our side. My father trusts him, my mother did too. Personally, I don't know him very well but I know that I can trust him too. And now, he's the only one with enough power to keep you safe. So, I guess, you should trust him too."

"I do, Dad", Lin replied. _Was he growling…?_

"Good", Jiang rose from his seat. Towering over his son, he continued more snappishly this time; his resemblance to Jeong Jeong became more pronounced. "Remember your training. It is your greatest weapon against any adversaries you might come across along this path."

Lin got up and bowed, bowed as a student should to his master. Jiang still didn't know about Lin losing his connection to his inner fire…

"Don't forget to brush your teeth every night before going to sleep", Jiang choked. "Don't forget to pray for your mother and grandmother, too."

Lin didn't raise his head, he felt his own tears swelling up on her eyes.

"And if one day you found girls around you suddenly seem so attractive, don't you worry about it. It's normal", Jiang chuckled, turning away so that Lin wouldn't see his tears. "Remember to fight well, live well, go through your teenage years well, and then age well so that you can grow old and go bald well, get sick well, and if you could, die well long after me."

A tear drop fell on the floor below, Lin still didn't look up.

"Don't forget to save some money for your future; you'll need it. And don't spend it carelessly."

"…"

"Stay away from alcohol. Stay away from smoking, too. Don't even touch cactus juice."

"…"

"Stay away from delinquents. Don't join any gangs. Don't dye your hair or change your hairstyle into those weird boar-q-pine hairstyle or something. And don't you dare get any tattoos."

"… *yawned*…"

An hour later…

"—most of all, stay away from easy girls."

"…_eh_…?"

"And when you get married, don't have a kid until you're thirty, use protection."

"…_huh_…?"

"Don't worry about it, you'll learn more soon enough."

"_Learn what?_"

"And remember: I want my first grandchild to be a girl. If it's a boy, that'll mean that your mother won the second round too."

"…_what_…?"

"And remember, this is important: name her 'Mei Mei'. Send her to college, art faculty should do fine; there's a good prospect for artists in this era", nodded Jiang sagely. "And then, when she turned… I don't know, twenty-something, find a good— son, you're listening?"

"Just kill me…"

* * *

—Are you going to do it?—

_(Lin was confronting Iroh in his room…)_

"I have made my decision, Young Dragon", Iroh said, clenching his jaw. "It is time you do as well."

"Then you live me no choice…"

Lin reached out to Nightshade and with a smooth motion pulled the blade free; Iroh, as impressive as it sounds, remained as calm as before.

"You told me that my dreams and vision are real, that they mean something", said Lin calmly. "I have this vision, General, of her. I saw her happy."

Lin smiled as he replayed the vision he had once had… of a raven haired angel he knew now was Azula running across a white sandy beaches, smiling and laughing, as breeze grazed her hair, the wave swept her feet; saw her kicking the sand, laughing, saw her spreading her arms and closing her eyes, breathing in the warm sea breeze. And it brought inexplicable warmth inside Lin and a smile on his face.

"I know that it is my… _destiny_ to make sure it comes true", Lin, still smiling, brought Nightshade to his own neck; the blade pressing against the skin of his jugular. "I don't know if I can do that if she go through that fall. And if I cannot fulfill this _destiny_ of mine, what other reason do I have to keep on living."

And when someone was holding a sword against his own neck, the first thing to do is to remain calm; and so Iroh did…

"…"

"…"

Fifteen minutes later…

"…"

"…"

An hour later…

"…"

"…"

"… Are you going to do it?"

"You're ruining my dramatic moment."

* * *

—The Wrath of a Fire Princess—

_(Lin was saying goodbye to Azula…)_

It was four in the morning; yep, four in the morning. At least according to Azula's hourglass. Lin crept into the room through the window he pried open with a knife. He tiptoed into the center of the room where a large bed was located, the bed that housed a sleeping princess. Azula was lying on her side; it seemed that she had had a nightmare or something. Her blanket that was a pile of wrinkled cloth after being kicked away, her messy hair that cover her face, her hand that had obviously been gripping the bed cover, and as Lin got closer, he noticed traces of dried tears on her cheek. Poor girl… must be a nightmare. Lin carefully pulled the blanket over her shoulder and softly pulled her hair away from her face. He would do something about the tears but that might wake her up so he didn't. And besides, he didn't want her to be awake; this would be a lot easier if she was asleep.

Lin knelt down and stared at Azula's sleeping face… yeah, she had been crying. He stayed like that for a minute or two before he pulled from his robe, a pouch, and took from it a beaded bracelet; the very same one that he had given to the princess long time ago. He put it on the bed near the princess's hand. He then pulled again from his robe the rose he had, erm… acquired from Lady Wen's room and placed it next to the bracelet.

Lin stared again into Azula's face; she shifted a little but did not wake up. She looked so peaceful and Lin would have done anything to keep it that way. Strange… why did he feel something like this for Azula, like he'd be willing to go to the end of the world just for her. Maybe because they were engaged, although only one of them knew that fact; but, nah… what does a thirteen your old brat like him know about love anyway? And besides, Azula was still nine; that's just… _wrong_. Because Azula was his student? Yeah, that actually sounded nicer, more decent. But, even so, Lin could not deny that it was more than just that, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

He sighed, knowing that he could not stay any longer. This would be their goodbye. Not the last goodbye, of course; spirits, no! His duel earlier with Iroh had made him realized something important. First, destiny _cannot_ be changed. And second… well, let's save the second one for later.

"Azula… I—", he started but stopped suddenly, speechless; he didn't know any way to say this nicely. Clearing his throat, he started again. "I… I can't save you, Azula. I'm sorry…"

The princess shifted again and let out a low grunt, still asleep.

"I can't do anything, your uncle can't do anything, either", Lin continued, whispering. "Don't blame him. He cares for you… in his own way. I'm really sorry."

He paused, trying to string words together to express his thought. It is actually harder than we might think, granted that it had been a rough night for Lin.

"I would want nothing more than to take you away from here, away from the Fire Nation, away from the Fire Lord, away from the war… but—", he snickered. "You'd probably kill me before I could even drag you to the front yard."

Azula moved again but still deep in her slumber.

"Listen, Azula", Lin whispered again. "You will rise far above everybody else; I know you will. You will be remembered as many things; as a Fire Princess, as a conqueror, a prodigy… but, sadly, also as a failure. You will rise above the heavens, soar higher and higher like a dragon, so high that when you fall, it will hurt you so much you'll just fall apart. It is understandable; the higher you are, the harder you fall, right?"

Azula did not respond… but Lin knew that had she been awake, she'd have understood.

"But, don't worry", Lin whispered again. "Because when you do fall… I will be there to pick you up."

He leaned closer to the princess and rested his head on the bed, smiling sadly. He knew his smile was sad but, strangely enough, what he felt inside was a certain warmth nobody could associate with sadness. Such is human's emotion: simply incomprehensible.

"I will be there for you at the end, when the whole world is against you, you can always find me standing in front of you, facing the whole world for you", swore Lin. "I promise."

He moved closer and landed a peck on the princess's cheek; it felt warm…

And that was when the groggy amber eyes looked back at him…

"ARRGGH! THIEF!"

"Wh— wait, wait! It's—"

"Take this! Royal Family Secret Firebending Style: Flaming Phoenix Soaring to the Heaven! Hiyah!"

"Argghh! My other eye!"

* * *

—Butt-nakedity—

_(Morning came in the Lin Family Estate.)_

And not so far away from the palace, in the Lin Family's Estate, Jiang was sitting solemnly in his room. He still could not believe it… his son was really gone. He had known that this would happen ever since the boy was recruited into the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination. But, never in his wildest dream had he thought that Lin would be taken away this soon.

He glanced at his hourglass; it was already five in the morning yet the sky was still as muddy as it had been last night. Oh well… he shrugged. He got up, grabbed a fresh towel from his wardrobe, and headed to his personal bathroom. He took his bath that morning longer than he usually would; the feeling of water on his skin as he dipped his whole body into the bathtub, it felt somewhat rejuvenating. When he got out, it was almost seven in the morning; the sky was still dark and Young Lady Wen was sitting in his room, eyes baggy and red and she was holding a Lin Family traditional beaded bracelet close to her heart.

Their eyes met… silence ensued between them, broken only by the Young Lady's snigger.

"…You… um, forgot to put your clothes on…"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Not sure when the next one will come out. Enjoy!


	2. Side Story I  Tyro

**Side Story – Captain Tyro of the 5****th**** Vanguard**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

* * *

The Great War of Four Nations; the most significant mark in the history of Four Nations. It carries many tales of great heroes, although the ones dedicated to the deeds of Avatar Aang and Fire Prince Zuko seemed to eclipse them all; after all, theirs were the stories of how the war was ended. The tale of Tyro was not one such as those; Tyro's tale was one that only a handful people knew, let alone remembered. Also, Tyro was but a name in history and not a particularly famous one too. But no matter; Tyro was, after all, a humble person.

And there he was, Tyro the prisoner. Having been defeated by Commander Masa of the 212th Battalion of Fire Nation Army, Tyro, his militia, and many other civilian earthbenders had been sent to a nearby prison facility. After many failed attempts to break free, they were finally sent to an off-shore prison facility, one of the many set up exclusively to hold earthbender prisoners. The Fire Nation sure was resourceful in these kinds of thing. Sitting there, having nothing to do, as it had been for months now, Tyro contemplated upon his life.

He was born in Gaoling, a rich merchant town, to a family of merchant with a tiny shred of noble blood in their veins. He was an only son and the only earthbender in their long line of non-bender. He still remembered growing up a robust boy, always getting into trouble, always fighting with the other kids. He remembered how his father sent him to Ba Sing Se when he turned thirteen with only a small backpack filled with some clothes, a toothbrush, a towel, a pouch of five silver pieces, and a document of nobility. It was harsh, but Tyro now understood it. He somehow made it to Ba Sing Se and was accepted into the 5th Vanguard. Many years serving as a Vanguard, he made a captain when he was in his mid thirties; it took that long because Vanguard units don't get sent to the front that often. In fact, the first time Tyro saw real action was when he was a twenty something lieutenant sent to aid a scout unit to Si Wong desert, with the most action he had got was when a horde of buzzard wasps almost ate him alive. That was also when he met a chief of one of the sandbender tribes who deemed him worthy of a secret that transcends the division of the Four Nations.

Captain Tyro of the 5th Vanguard… it does have a nice ring to it…

It was rather memory too for Tyro. Because shortly after his promotion, he met her for the first time. There had been a massive summon for the Order members regarding a certain incident in the Earth Kingdom Garsai Region. Garsai Region, located northwest of Earth Continent, was technically part of Fire Nation colonies. However, due to the rugged and vast topography, Fire Lord Azulon had given the Earth Kingdom locals who lived there the right to retain their land; if he had chosen to expunge them, it would have been such a waste of manpower and sources of tax. The only thing he asked from them was their cooperation in establishing Fire Nation colonies around their land.

For many years, the Earth Kingdom locals and Fire Nation colonials had been living side by side in awkward peace. But, about a week ago, a rumor reached Ba Sing Se about an anarchist movement that cost almost a hundred Earth Kingdom families their land and establishments. According to the rumor, some Fire Nation colonials, who believed that the Nation could make do without the locals taking up space in that region, formed a mob that waved Fire Nation flag, raided Earth Kingdom locals' houses, and burnt them down; all in the name of the Fire Lord. Without a doubt, the Earth Kingdom locals did not take that sitting down and retaliated with equal violence. There had been riots and gang fights from what Tyro had gathered, and the local tea shop owner in the Upper Ring, who happened to be one of the Order's contacts, forwarding to Tyro the summon from the Grand Lotus, seemed to had proven that these rumors were more than simple unfounded hearsay.

So, taking a temporary leave from his military duty, Tyro had somehow found himself standing in the large hall, staring in awe at the many famous faces among the crowd; it was, after all, the first time a low level member such as he attended one of the Order's secret meetings. And so, there he was, a thirty something earthbender soldier, standing nervously, sweating profusely, his bearded face pale, his green eyes frantically scanned the room for any familiar faces. Well, it was not that he did not recognize anyone; on the contrary, he recognized almost half of the room. The problem was, that half of the room could not possible recognize this no-name captain from spirits-know-where.

Turning to the left, he saw Admiral Jeong Jeong of Fire Nation, a man whose age was similar to his but achievement had far eclipsed his own, sporting Fire Nation traditional top-knot and twin moustache, talking rather animatedly with a another man whose age similar to Tyro and Jeong Jeong, but achievement similar to Jeong Jeong only, laughing hard until his deep blue eyes watered, Master Pakku of Northern Water Tribe; both men were wearing the Order's indigo-colored robe like everybody else, but with gray-white White Lotus patterned shoulder mantle; signifying their ranks of Master Lotus.

Behind them were more famous faces in the forms of General Zhu of Fire Nation, a large robust looking middle-aged man, talking seriously to two others who were significantly smaller in size compared with the Fire Nation general; a small elderly woman with snow-white hair tied into a large and tall Earth Kingdom bun secured with what looks like a chain of leaves and a twig, cradling a snow-white cat in her arms, also wearing Master Lotus robe like Jeong Jeong and Pakku, unlike General Zhu and the other person in their group; a young man known to the world as Fung the florist, but infamous in some circles as a master forger.

A little further from them, near a table of refreshments, was one of the biggest shot in the whole Earth Kingdom: the venerable King Bumi of Omashu; wearing nothing but his Master Lotus mantle, indigo-colored cape, green pants, and sets of iron-studded armguards, shin guards, and belt, exposing his iron-like muscle that had been the object of many men's envy. The Mad King of Omashu was laughing un-royally at whatever it was the young man he was having conversation with said to him, though the young man did not seem to be amused at all. The aforementioned young man, wearing top-knot, was green-eyed, brown-haired, clean-shaven, scarred on his forehead, and wearing robe without mantle or cape. He might not be a particularly famous face but Tyro recognized him from an article in army's newsletter and many rumors from soldiers who had been to the front. The man was Lieutenant Hwa, one of the youngest to have ever been inducted into the Order; an earthbending Fire National whom Crown Prince Iroh himself recommended to a post in his own battalion.

Speaking of which, there he was. Tyro might not have met the man before but there was no mistaking him. Rather plump around the belly and cheeks but stood with the bearing of a royalty, dark brown hair styled into typical Fire Nation top-knot, secured by a golden head-piece, with sideburns that almost crawled all over his chin parted way for a pointy short goatee, Iroh's amber eyes were bright and focused as he listened attentively to what Grand Lotus Shian Li was telling him; another man, also of Fire Nation appearance, but with rather grumpy air, Tyro recognized as Kaji, the famous wandering firebender warrior; another man, older with blue eyes, dark-grey hair styled into wolf-tails and ornamented with traditional Water beads, light tanned skin, face adorned with thick pointy goatee, almost of identical shape to Iroh's, called Karu, and was Pakku's mentor and a colleague of Tyro's Water Master; another man was a young dark-eyed man with long raven hair partially tied into an elaborate braid, a little younger than Iroh, Kaji, and Karu, by the looks of him, but was tallest of the group. This man, Tyro did not know but would be introduced to later as Jian Wu, a master swordsman serving as Iroh's lieutenant in his battalion. The fifth person talking to the Grand Lotus was a woman a year or two Tyro's senior whom Tyro recognized with mild surprise: sporting her hair in feminine Fire Nation top-knot, also wearing Master Lotus uniform like the other four, amber eyes sharp and alert, with something long, green, and tasseled tugged on her sash, red lips curved into a rather satisfied smile as the Grand Lotus tapped her shoulder acknowledgingly; it was none other than Umma, the Fire Nation's Tiger-Hawk Medic Lady.

Wow… That many famous personage and they were only those on _that_ side of the hall. Tyro turned to the other side and recognized so many other famous faces; none of them knew he was alive, of course: Duwa, an elderly sandbender warrior whom Tyro had not been acquainted with; Zan, the famous Fire Nation artist; Thu Rong, a fellow Vanguard captain who served in the 1st Unit; Shimazu, the infamous one-eyed Fire Nation commander; King Nara of Earth Kingdom City of Tianshui, a brilliant strategist and master earthbender; Yugoda, a talented healer from the North Pole whom Tyro had come to notice during his visit to the Northern Water Tribe; Elder Yuan Man, the famous Earth Kingdom hermit who was known to be a great philosopher and a healer of unparalleled skill; Takkuro, a fearsome Water Tribe pirate whom Tyro knew by reputation and from wanted posters; Sen Hua, the prolific Earth Kingdom priestess and the head abbess of Oya Abbey, and her disciple, Lady Wu, who had already established a reputation for herself as a talented seer; Ryogen, the fearsome Earth Kingdom Sohei Sect Monk Warrior; Lu Fu Sung, the award-winning Fire Nation playwright, and many more.

And there he was: a nameless nobody from Ba Sing Se…

Gulping, he wiped his sweaty face and took a deep breath. Still in his traveling garb and clutching his backpack, Tyro took a nervous and humbled step into the room when he halted abruptly; he almost did not see the little ponytailed girl in front of him and nearly ran into her. A girl who could not have been older than five or six in light red or pink garb, with big grey eyes, raven dark hair tied into a simple ponytail, messy bangs on her forehead, big grin on her face, and cute as a bearded cat kitten, according to Tyro's first impression. Staring deep at Tyro, he waited until the older man gave her an awkward smile before she decided that the stranger was a good person. She then threw her hands up and chirped. "Mister, mister! Up! Up!"

"Um…" Tyro scratched his head, at lost at what he should do. Then, deciding that there was no harm in it, he tied his backpack to his back and picked the small girl up to his arms. "So… you're here with your mom, little girl?"

"Nope", the little girl shook her head fast, her ponytailed waved around like a whip behind her scalp.

"With your dad?"

"Nuh-uh."

"…Grandma?"

"No."

"Grandpa?"

She merely shook her head again, giggling. Not knowing what he should do, for this was the first time Tyro had to deal with a child, he awkwardly asked another question.

"So, um, what's your name?"

"My name?" the little girl giggled. "But, old man Iroh said I shouldn't tell my name to strangers."

"…Huh?" Tyro frowned, his brain froze. _But it's okay to ask for 'up'…?_ At his gawk, the little girl laughed harder.

"What's your name, mister?"

"I… um…"

"Tyro?" a woman with tanned skin, a pair of emerald eyes, wearing yellowish bandages around her head like a headband, a pair of desert visor hanging on her neck, and a plain indigo robe greeted him. Finally, somebody he knew and, more importantly, knew him as well!

"Lady Suna", Tyro greeted the young woman, sighing in relief. Though Lady Suna was about ten years his junior, she was still the daughter of Tyro's Earth Master and hence deserved his respect. Tyro tried to bow awkwardly but found it a little difficult to do while cradling the little girl. As if understanding the situation, the little girl wrapped one of her arms around Tyro's neck while the other hand gripped the front of his shirt for support; allowing Tyro to slowly and carefully bow down to the smiling lady.

"Lian, are you bothering Mister Tyro?" Suna smiled warmly at the girl.

"Nope", Lian replied quick, smiling innocently.

"Well, Mister Tyro has to get prepared for the meeting", Suna put her arms on her hips, playfully reprimanding Lian. "Come on now; let Mister Tyro do what he must do."

"Okay!" just like that, Lian raised her arms at Suna, asking for a transfer.

Relieving the girl from Tyro's load, Suna, while cradling Lian, led Tyro through a door at the side of the hall. Through there was a hallway, many doors were set on each sides of the hallway. They descended the ladder at the end of the corridor, leading to more hallways, and then finally arrived at one of the rooms with opened door. Inside the room were a simple bed, a nightstand, a desk, and a small dresser. Lying neatly folded on the foot of the bed was a grey garb and a pair of indigo boots. For a newly initiated members like Tyro, the uniforms allowed for them was simple the gray acolyte garb. As they ascend to higher ranks, they would be allowed to wear the indigo Lotus Bud robe, indigo Lotus Blossom cape, and then the gray-white White Lotus Master shoulder mantle.

Feeling a rather pleasant feeling swelling in his chest, he lifted the gray acolyte uniform, _his_ gray acolyte uniform, and sighed almost longingly. Oh, the struggle he had to go through to pass his initiation; it was difficult but he did not regret a moment of it. It made him strong, it made him wise.

And so, he took off his robe and changed into the garb, _his_ garb. It was a simple outfit, not too light, not too heavy, not too thick, and not at all thin. It fit him perfectly. Finally, after tying his new cloth boots, he got out of the room to where Lady Suna and Lian were waiting. A moment or two filled with Suna commenting and fussing over the details such as how Tyro's sash were a little tight or making sure that the garb was not too small for his large frame, they found themselves retracing their steps back to the hall; this time with Lian back on Tyro's arms and Suna briefing Tyro about the overall situation over Garsai.

But instead of taking the left turn upstairs leading to the hall, Suna led Tyro to the left corridor, making their ways through spirits-know how many sets of corridors and stairs till they reached an indoor garden, which, for Earth Kingdom standard, was very extravagant for a civilians' dwelling; it really piqued Tyro's curiosity as to who the owner of this mansion was. On the garden, numerous gray garbed Order members like him littered around; it somewhat brought relief for Tyro. He had half expected himself to be the only acolyte in the midst of higher ranking members when he first entered the hall. Leaving Tyro and Lian, who did not want to be separated from her new friend, or new ride, whichever sounds nicer, Lady Suna excused herself.

The faces here pretty much made Tyro crestfallen again. Why? Simple: Tyro was already a thirty something man and had all the apparent marks of a person of his age, as for the rest of the acolytes, the oldest person among them was an obvious late twenty man who was taking on another acolyte in a Pai Sho match on the table in the middle of the garden; and even he obviously looked at least five years younger than Tyro! Somehow, Tyro really felt like he had wasted so much of his youth…

"Lian", a young man exclaimed, running up to them with open arms childishly.

"Uncle!" Lian exclaimed back, laughing.

"Hey! Don't call me '_uncle'_", the man pouted playfully. "I'm not that old yet."

_Well, that's true_, commented Tyro in his mind. The said man, who was in the middle of pinching Lian's nose, seemed to be in his mid twenty, definitely not even thirty. He was a brown-eyed man with this obvious childish air around him. His short dark saggy hair was tied into a stiff spiky ponytail that looked like the top part of a pineapple, further adding comical element to his character and to his slightly round but firm-jawed face. His eyes were big and bright, and the kind that smiled along with his mouth. Thin sideburns framed the sides of his face, and wispy moustache and beard framed his smiling mouth. Tyro could not help but notice his thickened finger pads and palm, and his blistered knuckles, a tell-tale sign of someone who was either an experienced hand-to-hand combatant or an earthbender.

"So, what should I call you, Uncle?" Lian giggled, struggling free from the man's pinch.

"Well, you can call me—"

"Grandpa", a voice suggested.

"Grandpa!"

"Hey!" the pineapple man shouted at the newcomer who might or might not have taught a little girl to call him grandpa. "I'm not _that_ old yet, Young Master!"

"Don't call me that, Jonsa", the second man sighed. The differences in appearance between him and Jonsa were such that, even though they were both wearing the same kind of outfit, Jonsa calling him _'Young Master'_ was fitting. Unlike Jonsa (the pineapple head), whose appearance spoke of unkempt or roughness, this _young master_ was elegant and clearly of noble birth. His long natural brown hair was tied into partial ponytail, veiled down his back to about a quarter of his torso, and had streaks of dark elegantly dyed into it. His skin was clear pale, almost too bright to look at, unlike Jonsa's slightly sunburnt skin. His eyes were sharp amber and gave off a calm yet penetrative aura, as if he was seeing through your soul from behind a veil. His frame was slender and tall like a bamboo, unlike Jonsa who was shorter but built wider, in a muscular way; and his face was sideburns free and clean shaven. He also carried with him a tasseled black lacquered wooden folding fan. "Remember, outside the confinement of my house, I am not your young master."

"Aw, come on, Young Master", Jonsa grinned. "I mean, it's not like—"

"Remember, Jonsa: I know all of your dark secrets", the Young Master cut in, narrowing his eyes dangerously, hiding the lower part of his face behind his fan, further accentuating the sharpness of his stare.

"…You wouldn't… right?" asked Jonsa, still grinning with Lian pulling his cheek.

Instead of answering right away, the Young Master fixed his eyes on Jonsa for awhile, as if calculating his next move. Then, turning to Lian, he said. "Lian, do you know that Uncle Jonsa has a birthmark—"

"Hey!"

"—the size of—"

"Not that one!"

"—located on his right bu—"

Lian and Tyro never got to hear the rest about Jonsa's birthmark as the man quickly stuffed the Young Master's mouth with his large hand, finally admitting defeat.

"I hope you've learnt your lesson", the Young Master said calmly, a ghost of smirk was apparent on the corner of his lips. Turning to Tyro, who was still cradling Lian, who was laughing hard at Jonsa, he smiled and bowed with a Fire Nation hand gesture: left palm held upright on top of right fist. Tyro tried to bow back with the more formal form of Earth Kingdom bow, with right fist adjacent to the upright left palm, but with Lian in his arm, he could not really do that. Jonsa, as if understanding Tyro's uncomfortable fidget, took Lian into his own arms, making it as if he just wanted to play with the little girl.

"You must be Tyro of Ba Sing Se's Vanguard", the Young Master said serenely, smiling warmly, which surprised Tyro a little; as an Earth Kingdom, he was more used to snobbish nobles. "Lady Suna spoke highly of you."

"Erm, t-thank you, Young Master", stuttered Tyro, nervous and wondering why he felt like smiling.

"The name's Zan Wa of Fire Nation, a simple artist of unworthy achievement", he nodded slightly and humbly, a severe underestimation, thought Tyro, as he had this man's painting of Mount Makapu hanging on his wall, the one Tyro spent half his monthly salary on. Then, gesturing at his companion, who was in the middle of tossing Lian up in the air, he said. "And this man is Jonsa. In our homeland, I am a son of an aristocrat and Jonsa is my personal bodyguard. Please, excuse us if we have caused any unwanted discomfort towards you, Master Tyro."

The man bowed again, a formal Fire Nation bow, almost all the way down to his waist level, a very humble gesture indeed by any standard. Gasping at this unexpected gesture, Tyro reached out to the man's shoulder and hoisted him up slightly, speechless; never before any noble, a Fire Nation noble no less, showed him such gesture of respect and humility. While it was true that Tyro was a noble himself, his bloodline was one of those of low status and questionable authenticity. To have someone such as Zan Wa bowing down to Tyro like that, it was unheard of in any culture, be it Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom.

"Please, Young Master", Tyro stuttered. "We are but one in the Order of White Lotus. There is no need for you to apologize for anything."

Bowing again slightly, Zan Wa thanked Tyro. Soon, they found themselves watching Jonsa and Lian fooling around, with other members watching along with them, some even joined in their game of tag.

"She was orphaned", said Zan Wa sadly, smiling fondly at the girl, who was pulling Jonsa's pineapple ponytail while she rode him around like a komodo rhino, chasing a random Order member; both were laughing.

"A victim from the conflict?" asked Tyro, also smiling at the girl sadly.

"Something like that", sighed Zan Wa. "Her family couldn't have settled for a year in their new home when the riot broke out. They were all killed."

A sharp blow struck Tyro's chest… a girl as young as she, to have suffered so much already, and it was only a minute ago when Tyro still thought that Lian was still ignorant of the harsh cruel world out there to have been so accepting towards a complete stranger like him…

"That's why we're here; to make sure there would be no sore like her", a woman on Tyro's right spoke with cracked voice; she was on the verge of tears as she smiled sadly and watched Lian being chased around by Jonsa who was on still on four and impersonating a rabid wolf-bat. The woman looked like she was around Zan Wa's age, which Tyro guessed to be at least three years below Jonsa's. The woman was slender but, as Tyro perceived from the way she was standing, she was also built well and fit, not bony-skinny like most Ba Sing Se's girls that Tyro had encountered so far, and not masculinely large like how Tyro had always imagined Northern Tribeswomen to be; yes, judging from her face paint, which was the shape of triangle below each eyes and intricate tribal patterns on each cheeks, plus her headband which consisted of brown leathers underneath green silk and long thin colorful beads of marble and a small medallion with an emerald core in the middle, this woman was from the indigenous tribe of Northern Korkea. Despite her face paint, which Tyro found to be a little strange, her eyes, the way her lips curved into an angelic smile, and, well, her appearance overall… Tyro, who was still a single unmarried uncommitted man at the time, could not help but admire her beauty, even though the sight of the woman's engraved horn dagger, protruding from her sash, made Tyro swore to keep his admiration to himself.

"Agree, my Lady Sha Q", Zan Wa nodded slightly at her, a nod that was replied with one just as elegant from the Northern Tribe lady. "Oh, and it's '_more'_ not '_sore_."

"No, Lian", laughed a woman who was crouching down behind the girl, guiding her tiny hand from behind. "That one, that thick one over there."

And swiftly, the little girl pulled; clutched before her fingers was one of Jonsa's short beard. Laughing merrily, she showed her trophy to the cheering crowd.

"See, told you Uncle Jonsa's beard comes off easy", grinned the woman at Lian, hugging her like she was a doll. Tyro had spent enough time in the North Pole to recognize the typical Water Tribe characteristics on her; brown hair and tanned skin, deep blue eyes and hair loopies, also two blue water beads hanging on each loopies. The woman had a kind smile as she directed Lian to pull another beard from Jonsa's face.

"Cut it out with the '_uncle'_, will ya", frowned Jonsa before his lips curved into an impish smile and he added. "_Auntie_ Nami."

And so, while Uncle Jonsa and Auntie Nami bickered on; Lian ran back to Tyro, still laughing. Once again safe on the man's arm, Lian tried to grab Zan Wa's fan while Tyro tried to strike a conversation with Sha Q.

"Is she always this lively?" _yes, smooth!_ exclaimed Tyro in his mind. At least he didn't stutter or anything. His heart was pounding like crazy, though.

"More or less", Sha Q answered, smiling at the girl who was trying to reach out to Zan Wa's folded fan; her Northern accent was thick in her speech. "Kids are opposed to be, don't you think?"

"Agree", said Tyro; and that was the end of his smooth-ness, and he did not feel comfortable with correcting her '_opposed'_ with '_supposed'_. Raking his brain for another topic of conversation, because it seemed like Sha Q was too busy watching Lian playing with Zan Wa to start a conversation on her own, Tyro distracted himself by watching the little girl unfolded Zan Wa's fan and fanned it toward the man's direction, trying to make his silky smooth hair flutter. Gulping rather louder than he expected to, he started another conversation, a very awkward and clichéd one: "Quite a lot of people here, huh?"

"… Hmm? I'm sorry, did you say something?" Sha Q asked back, having been genuinely not registering Tyro's rather pathetic attempt to hide his awkwardness; even more so when the Water Tribe woman from before, the one called Nami, appeared and took Lian from Tyro, making Tyro suddenly at loss of what he normally do with his hand when he was not doing anything with his hand, or if he was standing straight or maybe he puffed his chest too much, or if he normally look a girl in the eye when talking or stared at her— erm...

…What Tyro would not give to be swallowed alive by the very ground he was standing on…

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, a voice called from one of the entrances; Lady Suna, arriving with several other plain indigo robed members, called and asked the acolytes to follow them to the meeting hall. Soon, Tyro found himself being herded along with the rest of the acolytes, heavy with disappointment as Sha Q, the girl he apparently had a crush on, separated herself from him and chose to join a group of other female members rather than staying by his side, while Tyro had to be content walking alongside Zan Wa and Jonsa.

They did not go the hall from earlier. Instead, they found themselves entering a different hall room, larger one and deep in the underground, dark with only source of light came from glowing green crystals fixed along the walls and ceiling.

Inside the room, they joined the other members of the Order, the ones of higher ranks. Inside the hall, on the furthest side from the entrance, was an earthen podium covered by indigo carpet. On the middle of it, stood a venerable man; the Grand Lotus himself. Shian Li, a native of Earth Kingdom, was nicknamed the Merchant King of Huxin; indeed, hailing from the Huxin Province, Shian Li was known by the world as a powerful merchant who pretty much controlled the economy of Southwestern Earth Kingdom. His influence was such that even when then Fire Prince Azulon conquered the vast province, Shian Li was allowed to keep his property and run his business as usual; but, of course, rumor has it that Shian Li had to pay an enormous amount of tribute to be allowed such privilege.

Grand Lotus Shian Li was an old man, born during the era of peace, before the war broke out nearly eighty years before. He was bald, with long snow white beard that gave him an air of wisdom, wrinkled and hunched, and in need of walking cane to move around; one would not have guessed that Shian Li had once been a powerful earthbender. His old green eyes no longer sharp as they used to be but still radiating wisdom and experience. And standing in front of him in a neat line facing the acolytes and the lower ranking members were the Masters Lotus, and standing by his sides were four who had been his own disciples; Iroh, the Dragon of the West, of Fire Nation; Karu, the master waterbender, of Northern Water Tribe; Duwa, the sandbender, of Earth Kingdom; and Ryogen, the warrior monk, a non-bender of Earth Kingdom.

"My brothers and sisters", Grand Lotus Shian Li addressed the room; his voice carried no trace of his past as a fearsome earthbender, only his present as an enlightened old man. "It is with great joy I welcome you in this humble house of mine. Alas, we have to meet in such circumstance, not in a happier one."

Tyro smiled a little, not entirely sure why he did that though he understood the Grand Lotus perfectly. He instinctively glanced around, registering Zan Wa who gave the Grand Lotus his undivided attention and Jonsa who surprisingly did the same; all other members were more or less just as attentive. After all, with membership spanning across the Four Nations, an audience with the Grand Lotus himself was rare and tricky to get for some members, especially those who were not of Earth Kingdom origins. However, as Shian Li continued on with explaining about the condition in Garsai, Tyro could not help but stealing quick glances around, looking for a certain lady with face paint. But, even after Shian Li finished with his speech, and the meeting proceeded to, as Shian Li put it, 'socializing' with other members, Tyro still could not found that certain lady among the hundreds other people present. Finally giving up, he let Jonsa drag him to the nearest table for snacks while Jonsa energetically introduced Tyro to the other members.

"—and that is Li, Mr. Zhang's older brother. _Hey, Li_! No, not you, Li; I meant the Fire Nation Li; well, one of them, anyway. _Hey, Li! Like the new hair!_"

Receiving thumbs up from Li, well, the Fire Nation Li… one of them anyway, Jonsa turned Tyro only to find familiar sullen expression on his face; Agni knows how many times that exact expression had graced him and his streak of failed romance. Laughing insensitively, he patted the older man hard on the back, offering him a cup of wine.

"Alright, Mr. Tyro", Jonsa laughed. "Talk to Uncle Jonsa; who's she?"

Upon which Tyro spat his drink…

At the reaction, Jonsa laughed out loud, doubling over and clutching his sides. And when he finished, he started babbling about his own experience in romance, which had to be censored a little as Lian, carried by Nami, joined them.

"And so, when we finally decided to do that thing I told you about, her father showed up with five men armed with things that towns guard usually carries around. Anyway, they hunted me down for about a week, turning the town over to find me. Meanwhile, I was hiding in that place that I mentioned earlier, where I first met this girl that I wanted to do that thing I talked about before, you know", reminisced Jonsa.

"…Please stop…"

"Aw, come on, Mr. Tyro", chuckled Jonsa, helping Lian climbing up to Tyro's cradle. "It's not very often I got to—"

"Jonsa, are you bothering Mr. Tyro?" Zan Wa materialized out of nowhere behind Jonsa, face half-hidden behind his fan.

"What?" denied Jonsa once he overcame his surprise. "No, I am not! I'm just relating certain experience of mine in the field of romance with Mr. Tyro, that's all."

Zan Wa narrowed his eyes a little at Jonsa, then he folded his fan and began smoothly. "When Jonsa was ten, his mother brought home a—"

"Whoa!"

"— and it bit him on the bu—"

"Alright! I get it! Stop!" exclaimed Jonsa, admitting defeat.

"There you go, Mr. Tyro", smiled Zan Wa to Tyro. "Should you need it, I have compiled each and every embarrassing things about Jonsa's childhood into this book that I have hidden somewhere in my residence and I can have it delivered to you in matter of days."

"What? You said you've destroyed it!"

"I lied."

And so went the socializing event. Tyro was reminded again of how insignificant their differences were, of how wrong the things he had learnt from the military were; they said all Fire Nation are a bunch of warmongering sadistic fire-breathing pyromaniacs, and yet there was none of it in any of these Fire Nation people. Soon, Tyro finally got over his insecurity that he did not realize he still had regarding their nationalities, and started to lower his guard when talking to these people. A good thing too; because it allowed him to address the one thing that had been nagging him ever since their first conversation in the garden.

"Are you sure?" Zan Wa arched a brow, hiding his smirk behind his fan; Tyro knew he was holding a laughter because his voice wavered a bit. "It sounds rather… impolite."

"Yes, I am", Tyro nodded with utmost certainty; trying not to pay any attention to Jonsa and Nami's snicker and Lian's laughter. "Please, drop the '_mister'_ and call me by my name. It makes me feel old."

"Nah, at least nobody calls you '_uncle'_", scoffed Nami.

This topic went on a little longer, ended up with Jonsa and Nami bickering again, for some reason. It ended when the Grand Lotus himself approached them, along with him were several Masters Lotus, three of which Tyro recognized: Iroh, Jeong Jeong, and Karu.

"Grand Lotus", Tyro bowed a polite Earth Kingdom style after Nami took Lian from him.

Smiling fondly at Lian, whom he realized to have form an attachment to Tyro, what's with her protesting to be separated from the man and all, Shian Li nodded slightly at Tyro. As for Tyro, being addressed by the Grand Lotus himself seemed to have brought back the awkwardness and nervousness from earlier. He began to feel cold, felt his knees weak, aware of beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and his back felt itchy somehow.

"We will divide ourselves into several groups", explained Shian Li when Zan Wa inquired him about the details of their next move. "Hmm… Some of our members are too well-known to be noticed by the populace, they might need to work from the shadows."

He continued on, explaining about some members who were either too old to enter combat or simply were not capable of fighting, and how they were to be delegated to provide aid and comfort for civilians who would be provided refugee in the mansion, if the need arose. Also, how members who were active in the military might be required to assume their duty as usual if possible, working from the insides; and how several members might be required to infiltrate the anarchists and resistance to gather intel.

"You're on it", Shian Li decreed, pointing his cane at Jonsa.

"Whaaat?" Jonsa was clearly disappointed. "Can I stay with the combat unit with Young Mas—"

"When Jonsa was sixteen—"

"I mean with Zan Wa!"

"No", the Grand Lotus replied curtly, striking his beard sagely as he scrutinized Jonsa from head to toe. "You have the typical appearance of a Fire Nation peasant farmer. You will be perfect to be one of our spies. As the matter of fact, I will need you to join Li and his group and head to one of my plantations in the Nojo Plain early in the morning."

"Fire Nation Li?"

"No, Earth Kingdom Li."

"Which one?"

"The one with a burn scar on his left hand."

"We have five of them, Grand Lotus."

"Hmm, he also has this tiny cut on the corner of his mouth."

"Left side or right side."

"Left, I think."

"Oh, _that_ Li! Understood, sir."

"Good", Shian Li nodded. Then, at Tyro. "As for you, Tyro, as I understand it, you're— why are you squirming?"

"A-apologies, Grand Lotus", grinned Tyro guiltily, or was he grimacing? Reaching out to his back subtly, he pulled his garb down, rubbing the skin of his back on the fabric to counter the itch. "I— um, I… I…"

"Nervous, young man?" Shian Li nodded sagely, smiling encouragingly. "Don't be. After all, I have an easy assignment for you. Considering that you— Tyro? Tyro!"

The next thing he knew, it was morning and Tyro was lying on his bed, feeling rested and… a little weird. His mouth tasted dry and bitter. It took him awhile to register the room he was in; it was the room provided for him by the Order, not his room back on the barrack. He turned around for more comfortable position and then, he saw her; an angel with face paint.

"AARRRGGGH!"

"Good morning", Sha Q smiled, clearly trying not to laugh.

"W-w-w-what? Huh? Why… who… wha…? _Oh, my head_…" he felt weak all of the sudden. Sha Q moved fast and caught his shoulder before his head fell all the way onto his bed frame. Still smiling, she set Tyro's pillow back to position and put Tyro's head down slowly while the said Tyro was caught between wondering just what the hell had happened to him for he could not remember anything and his throbbing head did not permit any action that requires retrieval of memory; and thanking the Great Mother Earth for this occasion where the angel with face paint and headband who had stolen his heart yesterday was here tugging him to bed, hence allowing Tyro to legitimately stare at her, studying more details about her, such as the bright color of her skin under her face paint, the deep olive green of her eyes, the dimple on her left cheek when she smiled, a beauty mark on her neck standing undefeated by the overwhelming colors of her many tribal necklaces, and taking in the scent of her which Tyro registered to be the mixture of… *sniff* musk-wood and lavender (yeah, Tyro was an amateur botanist).

"How are you feeling?" she asked, placing her palm on Tyro's forehead, checking his temperature. The moment their skin touched, Tyro was in heaven…

"I-I-I…" oh, how Tyro cursed himself for stuttering… the Northern Tribeswoman, misinterpreting Tyro's stutter, answered what she thought to be in Tyro's mind.

"You were bitten by a spider-beetle", she said.

"…Huh?"

"You were bitten by a spider-beetle", she repeated. She procured the said insect, safely stored inside a bottle, from the nightstand. "Apparently, Lian -remember the little girl from yesterday?- snuck one into your shirt as a prank. She's being punished for that."

Sha Q nodded at the other side of the room where Tyro saw the back of a woman slouching on a couch while keeping an eye on a little girl, and the said little girl who was writing a series of _'I will not play around with poisonous insect anymore'_ on what seemed to be a blackboard made with earthbending.

"Come on, Lian", the slouching woman, sat straight. "Few more lines and you can have cookies after your breakfast."

Lian did not answer verbally; she just turned to the woman and launched a puppy dog eyes that faltered under whatever stare or facial expression the woman made. Turning around, the woman nodded her good morning to Tyro and Tyro's heart missed a few beats when he realized she was Umma, the Fire Nation Tiger-hawk, the very same woman who caused most Earth Kingdom commanders to issue an order of flee-on-sight to their soldiers.

"The bite was not that poisonous", explained Umma right to the point, standing up walking to Tyro's side of the room. She then took the bottle in which the said creature was running around, scrutinizing it. "At best, the venom will cause slight itch. But, if the victim had been drinking alcohol…"

"She meant no ham", sighed Sha Q, defending Lian.

"I know that", replied Umma curtly. "And the word's '_harm'_. But still… after everything I taught her about using beetle-ants, and she just _had_ to use a spider-beetle. Oh well, I guess I'll just made her write more lines after breakfast."

Umma let out a deep sigh, shaking her head in disbelief, while Tyro himself was trying to discern the fact that Umma was actually more concerned about the tool employed in Lian's prank than the fact that Lian… well, _pranked_ someone.

Wait… did Umma said '_breakfast'_?

"Don't get up too flash!" Sha Q exclaimed but too late. Tyro, experiencing quick and severe headache, slumped back down again; it felt like his brain was being squeezed through a keyhole.

"_Fast_…" he groaned, clutching his head before asking frantically, feeling color leaving his face. "Is it morning already?"

"Yes, but don't worry", Umma reassured him. "You're not late for anything."

"I'm not? What about the mission?"

"You're not assigned to the field, if that's what you're worrying about?" informed Umma, the corner of her mouth twitched somewhat.

"I'm not?" really…? A Vanguard like him?

"Nope", Umma nodded at the little girl across the room, positively smirking. "You've been assigned to babysit her."

"…Eh?"

* * *

"Lady Umma did say babysit but it is more like a… body guarding duty", reassured Sha Q, not very reassuring when she added a very non-reassuring. "I think…"

"But why me?" sighed Tyro, already wearing his usual plain cloth, sitting on a couch on the corner of the room with the Northern Tribeswoman, who had also donned her usual attire; a thick looking, heavily and colorfully embroidered and ornate long sleeved robe with leather outer vest, a pair of leather armguards adorned with engraved emerald, and a pair of boots, also embroidered and colorful like her clothes.

"I don't know", Sha Q shrugged with all honesty, casting a fond look at Lian, at the middle of the room, who was being tutored in literary education by a female member of the Order. "The Grand Lotus must have seen something in you". Turning to Tyro, she added seriously. "He rarely does something without a raisin."

"_Reason_", Tyro corrected. "Yeah, but…" Tyro looked as if he was trying to swallow something hard. "Why _me_…?"

"You're not disappointed, are you?" asked Sha Q, narrowing her eyes accusingly, sending Tyro into a state of astonishment.

Because deep down, Tyro was very disappointed…

I mean, come on! An earthbender Vanguard Captain with all the typical Earth Kingdom physical qualities; he would do so much better at, I don't know, infiltrating the Earth Kingdom resistance, or masquerading as a citizen, or even the local police force or something. He was a Vanguard Captain, for the spirits' sake! Well, yeah sure, he did not have much experience, and the Vanguard units, after the days of Chin the Conqueror, were nothing but a bunch of noble boys playing soldiers, but come on! His first duty as a member of the Order and he was stuck with babysitting a little girl.

The very same one who made a fool out of him in front of the Grand Lotus and the other members…

Hmm… Tyro finally saw the silver lining on this predicament…

"Why are you grinning somewhat evilly like that…?"

"What? Oh, no… um, nothing", Tyro evaded, changing the subject uncomfortably. "So, um… nice weapon you've got there."

_Nice weapon you've got there?_ What Tyro would not give to be able to give himself a beating…

"Oh, this?" Sha Q pulled her dagger off her sash smoothly. Like the rest of her, the wooden sheath and the horn handle of the weapon were also engraved and ornate with the colors and patterns of her tribe. She offered the curved blade to Tyro. It was about thirty centimeters long, and when Tyro pulled the dagger free, he was fascinated by the blade. The blade was like the lovechild of the Southern Region kukri and the Northeastern Provinces kodachi; the bladed part was thin, single-bladed, and medium-sized in length, like a kodachi, but curved inwardly like a kukri. "In our native tongue, we call it a 'yataghan'", explained Sha Q.

"I've never seen anything like it", admired Tyro. He spent some more time admiring the finer details on the weapon, the intricate engraving, the pattern, the enamel coloring, the embedded gemstones, the ornaments and tassel. "What does this made of?" he asked, caressing the tassel, the one made of some kind of black fabric braided into a thin short tassel and ornamented with beads.

"My mother's hair."

_That's creepy_… was what Tyro thankfully managed to not say out loud. "That's… nice."

Sha Q seemed to understand what was really in Tyro's mind, judging from her stifled smile. Taking the weapon back carefully, she explained. "It is the teaching of our ancestors to prospect one's mother to the highest of one's ability. After all, a mother's part in one's existence is far greater than a father's, wouldn't you agree? We have this practice of keeping our mother's hair in an object that we carry at all time as a way to remind ourselves of this teaching: the great prospect for mothers."

"It's '_respect'_, I think. And …wow", replied Tyro as the lady laughed sheepishly

"Apologies, I am more used to my native tongue", she confessed. "Where I came from, we have little need for Common Language."

"Oh, I see", was all Tyro could manage, leading to another dead silence between them. Oh, how he loathed himself for not being a smoother talker…

Thankfully, Lian arrived to save them from the awkward silence. Having finished with her studies, she trotted to Tyro and Sha Q, plopping down between them.

"Can we go outside?" she asked Tyro.

"No", answered Tyro without any hesitation. Umma had instructed Tyro to keep Lian inside the mansion and Tyro was not about to get into the Tiger-Hawk's bad side.

"I mean the front yard 'outside'", Lian pouted, apparently knowing about the house-arrest.

Tyro pondered for a moment; well, the front yard is still _inside_ the mansion, right? "Yeah, why not", oh, and a potential chance! "Would you like to come with us?" he asked Sha Q hopefully.

"No, sorry", Sha Q smiled apologetically. "I am supposed to help Elder Yuan Man preparing some medicine and sustenance."

"Oh", Tyro was clearly crestfallen. _Oh, cruel world! Why hast thee ripped this heart apart_…?

And so, there was only him and the little one. On the vast front yard on Shian Li's mansion, Lian was playing around with one of Grand Lotus' pet goat-retrievers while Tyro sat solemnly on one of the stone bench watching absent-mindedly. Even the beautiful scenery of the lavish well-maintained front yard could not distract him from his disappointments. Him making a fool out of himself, then the babysitting duty, and now this… Turned out, what those romantic plays said was true: your heart does ache when you're not with someone you love.

Love… was it really what Tyro was feeling?

Sounds a little heavy, don't you think? I mean, what Tyro knew about her, anyway? Her name and that she was from the Northern Tribe and she tied her mother's hair onto the hilt of her blade and that she mispronounced words in Common Language often. And that she was beautiful… and attractive, in so many ways… and she was one of a kind… she was kind, gentle…

…and she did not even notice him…

Yeah, sure, they had some (two) occurrences when they had a decent conversation but what were they to her? To Tyro, they were pure joy, heaven on earth. To her? Just one of those things, perhaps…

Oh, love… why do you have to be so complicated…?

Forget it! Tyro was too old for her, anyway. What was she, twenty five? Tyro was thirty three. Wait a minute…

Tyro looked up; they were only eighth years apart (if his guess was correct). For fully-matured adults like them, eight years apart was quite appropriate. And she was a Northern Tribeswoman; so what? Tyro would not mind being, what's the word, _converted_, into one of them; heck, he'd run back home to Gaoling and begged his mother for some of her hair to be made a necklace if need be. And she was… _her_. There was something about Sha Q that Tyro found mesmerizing, something that Tyro could not put his fingers on, something that he had never encountered in any other girls before. And that something… it was worth fighting for, right?

Yeah… love… he'd fight for love. Suddenly, the deserted front yard was not so dull to him anymore. On the contrary, the plum tree on the side of the pond had never been so beautiful to Tyro. The grass had never been so green, the dirt had never been so… well, it looked kinda nice to Tyro due to the power of love. The pond had never been so pretty, and the yard had never looked so… _empty_.

_Where did Lian go?_

Suddenly, the yard did not look so vibrant anymore.

There was no time to alert anyone and the gate was ajar. Lian must have slipped out somehow. Few minutes later, Tyro found himself running through the crowded market, looking for the little girl who would be so dead once Tyro got his hands on her. The search was quite difficult for him. He was an unmistakably Earth Kingdom and Lian wore Fire Nation colors. Whenever he found a little girl matching Lian's appearance and clothing and approached them to get a closer look at them, he risked a bilateral dispute. I mean, if you were a parent of a little girl who was being approached by frantic looking Earth Kingdom man in this ethnic-conflict torn region, how would you feel? After freeing himself from a Fire Nation lady who was pelting him with grocery, not to mention from those numerous suspicious and judgmental eyes, Tyro gave up on his search in the market and went farther along the road. He soon found himself in the residential area and praying that Lian was nowhere near this place.

Garsai Region was renowned for its architectural beauty, the one that combines Fire Nation's pointy pagoda-like tops with Earth Kingdom's square and stable bottoms. However, the recent conflict seemed to have robbed them of this element. The houses Tyro encountered along the road were ruined and abandoned. Burnt or crashed, or both; clearly the work of benders. It appeared that a riot had broken up in this particular spot sometime ago. This fact prompted Tyro to hasten his search. The sooner he located the little nincompoop the better off they would be.

Suddenly, there was a sound of barking. A stray dog, surmised Tyro as he resumed his search. The barking did not stop, not that Tyro cared. Getting a little desperate, he decided to summon a pillar on the spot where he stood with earthbending, hence providing him with higher point of view. And as he incidentally located the source of the barking, feeling his stomach gone cold all of the sudden, he also located where Lian was. Bringing his palms down, the pillar sank back to the earth. Still maintaining his footing, he raised his palms and slammed them back down; the earth obeyed his command and propelled him away like a bouncy couch would. It enabled him to jump more than ten feet up in the air forward, across the ruined cloth store in front of him, towards the alley two blocks behind the store. He landed spot on in between the goat-retriever, who was protecting its charge, the little girl on the verge of crying behind the animal, and a group of five mean looking Earth Kingdom.

Without waiting for them to recover from their shock, Tyro sent numerous earthbending attacks at the group. The group was no match for the captain's ferocious attacks and after suffering several boulder blasts, they decided to retreat. Panting a little, Tyro eased his stance as the shadow of the bad guys disappeared from the corner of the alleyway. Turning around, he found Lian caressing the goat-retriever, seemingly shrunken under Tyro's furious stare. Without further ado, he began chiding the girl for 'being reckless and selfish' and 'irresponsible' and 'putting her life in danger' and all that. Lian kept silent, eyes fixed on the ground below as Tyro went on. Until, finally, Tyro ordered her to return with him to the mansion, that was when she spoke. "No. I have to go somewhere!"

"Don't be absurd!" Tyro rejected it, no doubt. "It's not safe out here."

"But, but… I really have to go somewhere…" Lian's lower lip began to quiver, her eyes began to water; even the goat-retriever whined lightly as it caressed the girl's cheek with its nose.

"No", sighing, Tyro stated again, a little softer this time; he was not immune to crying girls. "Listen, you are forbidden to leave the mansion. I don't know what this important place you have to go to, but if— hey, what're you…" he was startled as Lian collapsed. Ah, a trick! It must be to lure Tyro closer so that she could throw some sort of poisonous insect at his face or something. But, since the goat-retriever, who was barking again, whined occasionally in between his barks, and the fact that animal has better instinct than man, Tyro suddenly realized that it was no trick. Reaching down, he lifted the girl onto his arms, feeling her burning up with fever. He must get her back fast! Without caring for anything else, he ran!

Now, as we have discussed before, Tyro had all the physical features of a common stereotypical Earth Kingdom man and Lian was wearing clothes of Fire Nation typical color. So, when Tyro was seen carrying the unconscious Lian in the midst of a bloody racial conflict, they were bound to get noticed by some Fire Nation colonials who would easily misunderstand Tyro's intention. Some of them, apparently, had sent a report to the military. Which was why it was not surprising that halfway towards the mansion, after making their ways through the market, Tyro was halted by a group of Fire Nation soldiers. Surrounded from all sides by about ten men with no one by his side but a small noisy mutt and a little girl burdening his mobility, he was truly at his wits' end.

A young soldier stepped out, an officer by the looks of his uniform. "Hands off the girl, knave!" he said, pointing the hilt of his sheathed sword at Lian. Oh, spirits! There was nothing he could do… he could not fight, not when Lian was with him and his opponents were real fully-sanctioned Fire Nation soldiers. If his identity as an active member of the Earth Kingdom Army were discovered, the effect could result in an open war. He felt sweat forming on his forehead; he could not stop himself from fidgeting. Ten spears surrounding him from all sides and a sheathed sword marched slowly towards him from the front. His brain frantically formulated plans and ploys, none of them could work. He could not surrender; it would be a sure fire way to get his identity discovered. Nor could he resist, not without putting Lian's life in danger. He could leave Lian behind and scram; the soldiers would not hurt her. And then maybe he could follow them from the shadow and strike when they were vulnerable. But, no! He would never leave her behind!

There was no way out for them…

—POOF!—

A smoke bomb! Under the cover of the smokescreen, Tyro grabbed the goat-retriever and performed his earth-propelling technique, leaping over the soldiers into the nearby woods. Running deeper into the trees, he could not even care to guess who had thrown that smoke bomb but he was grateful for that. He just ran, faster and faster, with Lian cradled across his chest in one hand and the mutt carried by its waist on the other. A rustle around him, he ignored. Not that he needed to do anything about it. The cause of that rustle was several figures who leaped out of the nearby bushes and now dashed along with him, covering his flanks; figures wearing either gray or indigo outfit: his brethrens…

* * *

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

It echoed all over the hall. Umma was in the middle of screaming at the kneeling Tyro. Also with them in the room were those who had assisted Tyro's escape, five of their members; Nami and Zan Wa included in them. Apparently, one of the standby members had seen Tyro leaving the mansion and reported it to Umma, who was in charge of their base security. Umma then promptly sent several free members to go after Tyro. And then, the chaos.

"I have explicitly told you that she is not to leave the mansion! Were you not listening?"

Tyro could do nothing but hanging his head down, unable to even look Umma in the eye. After all, he _was_ at fault. If he had been more attentive on his duty…

"My lady", Zan Wa interrupted. "Please, there is no need for this. The point is, Lian is safe and there was no unnecessary conflict with the authorities. It could have been worse."

"It could have been _better_", snapped Umma. Heck, even Zan Wa had no come back for this.

"She's weak", growled Umma again at Tyro. "She has weak body. She can't get too excited or her body would…"

_Well, that explains the fainting_…

"You disappoint me, Tyro", added Umma through her clench jaw. "From now on, you will be accompanied by another acolyte. You will share this duty between the two of you. Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am", replied Tyro weakly.

After some more verbal abuse, Umma finally relented and stomped her way out of the hall angrily, leaving Tyro's woe at the mercy of the others' sympathetic look. Failing to cheer him up, Nami and Zan Wa somehow managed to convinced Tyro to go and visit Lian with them. It was not much but it was better than leaving him alone in the hall pitying himself. Soon, they were in a rather extravagant room where Lian was lying on a bed, tended by Yugoda and Sha Q.

After exchanging greetings, Yugoda excused herself for she needed to prepare more medicine, not forgetting to throw a stabbing glare at Tyro, of course. They sat there awhile in silence. Then, one by one they exited the room; Zan Wa had to attend a strategy meeting and Nami had to help out with preparing medicine for the refugees, until it was the three of them; Lian, still asleep, Sha Q and Tyro, sitting in silence.

It was unbearable; Tyro would have preferred she was yelling at him too…

"How could this happen?" she said at last, perhaps unable to bear the silence anymore. Her tone was one of disappointment, of pain… Now, Tyro would rather have the silence back.

"It was my fault. I was careless", Tyro would not even try to deny it. And then, the silence returned, thicker than before, the only sound heard was the fire flickering on the fireplace and the night breeze whistling through the leaves. They just stayed there, as if frozen. Tyro could not bear it…

"Say it", he said, jaws clenched. Sha Q did not respond, not even glanced. He repeated, stronger. "Say it!"

"Say what?" Sha Q asked, her tone hardened.

"I messed up!" even Tyro did not know why he raised his voice. "I've got a simple babysitting assignment and I messed up. Say it!"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Say it!"

—SLAPPED—

His cheek burnt. Sha Q no longer sat; she stood, angry and furious, her chest went up and down as she panted in anger. Tyro was in no better state himself. He was wrecked, he did not know what to feel; he was disappointed at himself, for failing so miserably, he felt guilty for Lian, for letting her out of his sight, and he was angry, angry at himself for putting Sha Q, the girl he claimed to love, and his brethrens through this particular ordeal. And he was supposed to be the older one, the wiser and more reliable one. He screwed up… and he was angry at himself for that.

"I'm a failure", he choked, trying hard not to cry. "I let this happen."

"Don't say that!" Sha Q snapped, her voice also wavered.

"I let everyone down."

"Stop it!"

"I let this happen", Tyro's dam broke. "I don't deserve to be here."

Sha Q moved; Tyro closed his eyes and braced himself for another slap. But it did not come…

All he felt was the warmth of lavender and musk-wood, a pair of strong but gentle arms around his neck, and the sound of Sha Q sobbing on his shoulder.

* * *

"Can I go outside?"

"This is the middle of the night."

Just a few moments ago, Lian woke up. While Sha Q went to the kitchen to get some soup, the girl promptly asked to be allowed out. What a child, thought Tyro. Not an ounce of care for her own health. This babysitting job turned out to be more complicated than Tyro had originally thought. And it was difficult saying 'no' to her too; if Tyro had any weakness, it would be crying girls. Tyro was, after all, an only son growing up with three younger sisters. After much pestering, all denied by Tyro, Lian finally decided that she wanted to see the moon to appease her desire to go out even if just a little, and Tyro saw no harm in it. Better than going outside, right?

Opening the window, he cradled the girl and sat her on the frame. It seemed to bring some joy to her. _Poor kid, must've been detained indoor all her life_, thought Tyro, looking down on the girl who chirped about the many different star constellations in the sky. Might explain why she was so knowledgeable at this kind of stuff; the most astronomy she knew must have been the ones found in books, not in nature. Perhaps Tyro had grown to understand this kid a little bit better; he himself was in a similar predicament when he was her age, after all. Him being a combative robust kid brought up in a peaceful merchant family; he remembered how hurtful it had been when he, as a mere thirteen year old kid, told his father about his wish to be a soldier, only to be kicked out by his father. Lian must have felt trapped like he used to; a robust boy trapped in his father's pacifistic doctrine, just like a cheerful adventurous girl trapped in a weak body.

At the moment, Tyro vowed to be a better sitter for this girl…

Soon, as Lian's enthusiasm about the stars was quite contagious, Tyro found himself enjoying the view too. He was following the girl's finger tracing an invisible line that connected the Western Badger-mole Constellation, listening to her story about how that constellation had been considered a good luck omen for those born in the Year of Rat; he was completely oblivious that Lian's tiny hand was subtly tracing itself behind the curtain, groping for a dangling rope she had installed there earlier before. When the bobby trap went off, sending smoke of chalk powder everywhere, it was already too late for Tyro.

Coughing, Tyro staggered his way to a nearby water jug. Some of the powder got into his eyes and it burnt. Darned kid! Just when Tyro's opinion improved a little about her. He poured some water on his cupped hand and splashed it on his eyes. Rubbing his sight clear, he quickly scanned the room for her, already making promise to make a case to Umma whom he was sure would give Lian some deserved punishment. But, Lian was nowhere to be found…

Frantically, he scurried all over the room, looking for her under the blanket on the bed, under the bed, inside the wardrobe, inside the drawer, not that she could fit in there but Tyro was in panic. She was really nowhere to be found. She got out, Tyro thought in complete horror, turning pale suddenly. _She will get me killed_! Pouring the whole content of the jug onto his face, Tyro let it slide off his fingers and dropped with a loud clank, just seconds before Sha Q entered the room with a steaming bowl of soup, bewildered as to why the room was dirty with chalk powder, empty, and neither Tyro nor Lian was in there.

* * *

The Fire Nation officer walked lazily across the ruined residential area, yawning a little. His sword strapped behind his back, helmet carried in his hand. The night breeze was quite refreshing and it felt nice on his scalp. Ah, the downside of being a soldier; having to wear helmets when on duty. Behind him, two of his spear-wielding men walked a few paces behind him. Heh, he did not envy them. Being of lower ranks, the military rules and regulations were much stricter on them. They even had to wear their face masks. _And missed tonight fresh air?_ Luckily, the young sergeant was not that cruel-hearted.

He turned around and was about to give permission or his men to take off their headwear when he noticed from the corner of his eyes a tiny silhouette dashing through the street two blocks in front of them. His men seemed to have noticed that too since they had suddenly tensed up and raised their spears battle ready; the officer, however, ordered them to stand down for his trained ears picked up another sound, heavy footsteps coming from the same direction. Few seconds later, a large man ran past the track, a man that seemed familiar to him. Why, it the very same man whom he had nearly caught earlier in the morning, the man who had kidnapped that little Fire Nation girl. If it had not been for that blasted smoke bombs…

From those information, the young sergeant had concluded that the man was either part of the Earth Kingdom rebels or a lowlife member of some organized crime gang. First, he was definitely an Earth Kingdom. Second, he had kidnapped a Fire Nation child (_and a goat-retriever, as if kidnapping little girls is not bad enough!_), and third, he had accomplices. _Low-life dirt-eater!_

Signaling the man with a hand gesture, he put on his helmet back on and gave chase to the man; already making plan to let this man lead him to their lair.

* * *

_There she is!_ Finally, after all that running! Tyro genuinely thought he was too old for this; the last time he ran this much had been boot camp when he was eighteen. But no matter, she was there now, right in front of him. Overworking his wheezing breath and protesting heart, he accelerated ahead and caught the girl by her waist hoisting her up, ignoring her startled yelp. A few more paces he took to slow down; still heaving, he put Lian down and stared angrily at the girl's face, and his eyes softened all of the sudden. She was crying…

As she dived down into his arms, Tyro was conflicted between believing this to be a genuine response or yet another ruse from this surprisingly resourceful kid. He chose the former. As Lian calmed down a little, Tyro promptly suggested that they should head back home but Lian was still adamant about somewhere she should go to.

"Just around that corner!" she whined, pointing at the said corner.

"No!" Tyro stated with all the authority he had. "You can't run around like this! You know your body can't—"

He hit the nerve there… Lian's face scrunched up and she began to cry again; only this time, it was definitely real tears. She must have been fed up with people treating her like a delicate piece of ice sculpture in summer heat due to her condition, and now her Mr. Tyro did the same.

"Look, I'm sorry", said Tyro softly as he lifted up her chin and wiped her tears away. "But you can't run around like this. You have to come back."

"I have to go there", she sobbed. "Just around that corner…"

"But, Lian—"

"I have to go! I've promised… *sniff*"

Tyro had no reply. Long he stared at the girl, trying to think up something to say. _O spirits, protect me from Lady Umma_… sighing, Tyro stood up, hoisting the girl up into his arms. "Over there?" he asked. Lian abruptly looked happy again as she nodded. Anyway, as it turned out, 'around that corner' did not really lead to Lian's destination. It led to a road that led to 'that corner', which led to another road that led to 'across that park', and so on.

Fifteen minutes later Tyro found himself carrying the girl across a wood into a hut on top of a hill. The hut was simple, made of earth and wood. At the side of it was a small garden filled with budding vegetables and herbs, and a few yards away was a barn. At the back of the barn was a fenced space for livestock; Tyro saw five ostrich horses, three cow-telopes, many pig-hens and deer-roosters, and some three-tailed bull-goats. No torch or lighting was lit but Tyro could see, under the moonlight, several white pieces of cloth tied around the door handle, the beams of the front part of the house, and the window leaves. Somebody had died…

"Uncle Ji!" Lian suddenly called out. Tyro was about to tell her not to make any unnecessary sound when a dark silhouette of a rather short and plump man suddenly appeared from behind the hut. The silhouette called out. "Lian?" before several other figures joined him; a taller and slender one, and a short one of a child.

"Uncle Ji!" Lian called again, prompting those dark figures to let out a sigh of relief and approach them swiftly, and Tyro to tense up, not sure of what he should do. As they got closer, Tyro faintly registered their faces: the first one was a short and plump but somewhat muscular around the arms middle-aged man, short bearded and wearing Earth Kingdom colors and hairstyle; the tall one was a woman around Tyro's age, and the short one was a boy a little older than Lian.

"Lian, you really came!" Uncle Ji approached and Took Lian into his arms, hugging her with the woman. "You shouldn't have. It's dangerous."

The woman looked up to Tyro, whom Lian introduced as her 'guardian', and thanked him for bringing Lian here. A short introduction ensued and Tyro was promptly brought to the back of the hut where three other figures stood. As they exchanged their teary emotional greetings with Lian, Uncle Ji lit up a candle and led the group towards the clearing ahead, a clearing where a single tombstone had been erected. It was customary in Garsai Region to carry out funerals at night, and one day before the funeral all light must not be lit as to symbolize the deceased soul as the 'light' that had left the family. Only when the procession are about to take place could the head of the family light a single candle and used it to burn ceremonial paper money and offerings in the funeral.

As they proceeded to the offering burning, with Lian included in it, Tyro felt like he was intruding in some sacred family ritual, all the while wondering just who Lian was. She had been wearing Fire Nation colors all the time she was kept as a ward in Shian Li's mansion, so Tyro had concluded that she was a colonial. But, to be allowed to take part in a funeral of an Earth Kingdom, Tyro was not so sure anymore. However, as Uncle Ji shoved a bunch of ceremonial paper money into Tyro's hand and invited him to take part in the ritual, Ji told him the story of how Lian had come to be acquainted with his family in low whisper.

Lian was a Fire Nation, born and bred. Her family had moved to Garsai Region due to the concern for her health; as Lian was born with weak constitution and had to routinely take some medicine, which ingredients are native to the Region, her family had decided to purchase a plot of land, built a mansion on it, and moved there. It was a year before; and this funeral, it was for Di, Ji's younger brother. While Ji was but a simple farmer, Di had been a student of the sword. Di had been employed by Lian's family as a guard and that was how he had come to know Lian and her health. Lian's family had been kind to him and his family and, after consulting with them, Di introduced his sister-in-law, Ji's wife, a proficient herbalist, to Lian's family. Ji's wife was made Lian's personal caretaker and was responsible for Lian's medicine, and from the many occasions she took Lian to visit their farmhouse, Lian had come to befriend the rest of the family: Ji, his teenage son, his younger son who was around Lian's age, and Ji's parents and his youngest sister. It had been a good life for the two families.

But, then the conflict broke out…

In a raid by angry Earth Kingdom mob, Di perished while defending Lian's family mansion, a raid that also claimed the lives of Lian's parents. Lian herself, who was visiting Ji's house at the time, survived. Knowing that he could not do much for Lian, Ji sought assistance from the Merchant King Shian Li, who was more than happy to take Lian as his ward; not before Lian promising that she would attend her Uncle Di's funeral, of course, despite Ji's insistence that she should not. But now, there she was… among family.

"She never told me", said Tyro, feelings shame and regret for condemning Lian's escapes as nothing but childish ignorance.

"It would be bad for Lord Shian Li", explained Ji in low voice. "Taking in a colonial is bad enough. Imagine what would happen if Lian is seen visiting an Earth Kingdom family. People would think that Lord Shian Li is conspiring with the resistance."

Both men looked up to Lian who, upon throwing the last of her offering into the pyre, brought her hands together in front of her chest, closed her eyes, and prayed.

"I would assume that she didn't say anything about it to anybody else, either", sighed Ji. "She might be young but she knows how to put others above herself. She's special."

"She is", nodded Tyro. He looked up to the girl's back. _Who would've known_…

His contemplation and the sanctity of the funeral, however, were disturbed by a bone chilling cry; Ji's sister let out a horrified scream, pointing at the sight of an incoming soldiers: three men in red uniform were approaching menacingly; two were carrying spear and one a sword on his back.

Without a further ado, Tyro ordered Ji to keep the rest of the family together in a safe distance while he marched down towards the soldiers, ready for the fight he hoped would not come to pass.

"What do you want?" Tyro boomed. "We are having a funeral here. Show some respect!"

"For your ringleader?" the officer asked coldly, pulling his sword free off its sheath. "You have a Fire Nation citizen with you. I demand you release her immediately!" his voice raised but reduced to menacing hiss as he added. "Unharmed…"

"What are talking about?" Tyro frowned. By the light of the pyre a few meters away he faintly recognized the officer's face as the one who had almost caught him earlier that day.

"Kidnapping, animal cruelty, and now lying to authority and obstruction of justice", the officer listed, almost looked happy as he cruelly grinned and assumed a stance. "I'd say a death sentence is at hand for a lowlife dirt-eater like you. Men, arrest him!"

Tyro was outnumbered. And when some one is outnumbered three to one like he was, an initiative strike could be a defining factor in one's survival. Hence, without waiting for the soldiers to take even one step, Tyro stomped his right foot to the ground below, sending a chunk of rock levitating in front of him. Raising the same foot, he kicked it ahead, sending it flying forward towards one of the spear-wielding soldiers, knocking him out cold. The second spear stabbed at his direction; he swiftly assumed a central stance. Putting absolute faith in his bending, he brought his fists together, bumping them in front of his chest, and as his fists met, so did two small earth wall, clasping the incoming spear between them. Dragging his left feet behind, he switched to frontal stance and delivered a double palm strike which, although did not physically touched the rock wall, managed to simultaneously shattered and propelled the numerous shards forward, towards the soldier whose weapon was trapped, catching him in the blast full frontal, and the officer, who managed to leaped high over the downed soldier and Tyro's attack.

The sergeant somersaulted mid-air and, as he landed, delivered a mighty vertical slash; Tyro, whose right arm was coated with bended solid rock like a bracer, barely able to deflect the blow. The force of the blow shattered the rock-bracer but Tyro was able to shift his arm enough to let the blade slide away harmlessly.

Next, he found himself at the mercy of the sergeant's vicious flurry of sword stabs. Tyro evaded the first one, the second nearly pierced his face had he not ducked in time, the third one almost skewered him alive but he managed to roll away in time, the next stab nicked him on the cheek but he was otherwise unharmed, the next stab forced him to abandon his counter attack, the next one he evaded successfully, but as he began to lose footing and balance, the coming stabs left him tattered with cuts, until the Fire Nation's foot came spinning to his jaw, knocking him to the ground. The spinning kick hit the soft part of his jaw, knocking down part of his consciousness. He must get up but his arms gave up on him as he hoisted himself up a little, sending him crashing back down face first.

He tried to get up again, but the cold sharp feeling on the back of his neck told him that the sergeant had his sword pointed at that part of Tyro's body. However, before anything could happen, Tyro saw shadow flashing on the ground below, felt the point of the sword departed from his neck, and heard the sergeant grunted as he landed on his back several feet away. Bewildered and furious, the sergeant clambered back up and lunged ahead at the dark-cloaked and hooded man who had just knocked him down. His offensive turned to defensive as a silver gleam unexpectedly shot out from behind the intruder's cloak; sparks flew as their blades connect. The sergeant was about to deliver a slash when he was yet again forced to defend from the cloak-figure's swift and deathly slash. Three more slashes the sergeant stood his ground against; the fourth one was a mighty two-handed blow that literally pushed him skidding back. In this safer distance, the sergeant assumed a new stance, searching for an opportunity to strike again; but the cloaked man lowered his blade and threw off his hood. The sergeant was thrown from fury to bewilderment. He was now staring eye-to-eye with his own senior officer.

"Lieutenant!"

"Stand down, Piandao!" Jian Wu ordered coldly, his sword shout out once more aimed at the sergeant. "We do not harm citizens! How many times must I tell you that?"

"But, sir!" protested Piandao, still lust for blood, he pointed his sword at Tyro. "That dirt-eater abducted a Fire Nation citizen! I was just doing my duty to—"

"I said stand down!" roared Jian Wu, slashing his sword down threateningly; though Piandao was standing three meters away from him, way beyond Jian Wu's reach, the younger man's startled expression made it looked as if Jian Wu had really slashed him.

Knowing the vast difference in their skills, Piandao grew pale as his sword slipped from his grasp. He fell down to his knee, clutching his chest and panting hard. One of the soldiers, the still conscious one, approached the young sergeant and lifted him up. Lieutenant Jian Wu gave them further order to get the headquarters infirmary and get patched-up. Seconds later, Piandao was on his way back to the base, carrying his unconscious comrade with the other soldier, leaving Jian Wu to apologize for his men's behaviors. Soon, the swordsmaster left, letting the family resume their funeral.

It took awhile for the conflict to be resolved. Many more fights broke out, but thanks to the effort of Jonsa, the Earth Kingdom Li (one of them, anyway), and many other spies and informants, many citizen casualties were evaded. Few weeks later, when many anarchist leaders were caught and peace were mediated between the colonials and the resistance, mediated by many high ranking officials and influential personage, the likes of Admiral Jeong Jeong, Fire Prince Iroh, the Merchant King Shian Li, and the Priestess Sen Hua, plus several behind-the-scene conflicts resolved by many of those who were experts of such dealings of the underworld, like Takkuro and Fung, peace treaty was signed.

As for Tyro, the fight with Piandao was the most action he experienced during the whole ordeal. He spent the rest of the conflict keeping Lian company in the mansion, a mission he did not mind at the very least; he still shuddered at how close Death brushed against him at the hand of Piandao, and more importantly, it gave him a lot of opportunity to be with a certain angel with face paint.

The spirits had not abandoned Tyro; as it turned out, the member Umma mentioned to help Tyro with Lian was Sha Q. Praised be the Mother Earth! Ah, heaven for Tyro; he grew closer to her, he learnt much about her, he spent most of his time with her talking, telling stories, teaching each other stuffs, comparing their different cultures. Tyro taught her Vanguard style of earthbending and she demonstrated to him the traditional style of her tribe. Sha Q taught Tyro some words of her native tongue and Tyro regaled her with some of the more complicated words in Common Language. Pure bliss…

But even that had come to an end. As the conflict subsided, they must be disbanded until the next summon. That night, weeks after the funeral, Tyro found himself in the farewell feast, lavishly provided by the Grand Lotus. Unlike the briefing socializing party, the members did not wear their Lotus uniforms; it just did not fit, according to Shian Li. They wore their own clothes, united despite their colors. And there he was, gulping cups of beverage with Jonsa and the boys; Sha Q was once again with her female friends, the ones she had not gotten chance to talk to as often as she hoped. Their last night together, probably ever, and she chose to be with those girls. Even Lian chose to stay with them. Tyro's disappointment seemed ooze out and it was noticed by his friends; what's with Jonsa and Li (one of the Fire Nation's), kept pouring him drink and tried to cheer him up. However, only Zan Wa understood the meaning behind the stolen glances to a specific woman with face paint, few tables away. After dismissing Jonsa with yet another threat to reveal one of the former's embarrassing stories which involved a komodo rhino, a piece of goat-retriever turd, and him being an eleven year old boy, Zan Wa finally managed to brushed them off Tyro.

"You know", the artist started, pouring Tyro a cup of barley wine. "I _could_ say that it is not meant to be and why it is not meant to be. But, my friend, sometimes you have to leap into the pond to know the water is cold."

Tyro pondered upon these words. Whether it was because Zan Wa was truly inspirational with words or Tyro was half-drunk, the older man finished his cup in one gulp, put it down on the table, and bowed deeply at Zan Wa who hid his smile behind his fan as he nodded back.

Puffing his chest, Tyro walked tall towards that table, eyes set straight on his target. As he approached, greeting the ladies courteously, he pulled the one with face paint away from the group, accompanied by numerous giggles. But Tyro did not care, not when this might very well be the last chance they would ever get to talk, or when he was still in alcohol-induced courage, whichever sounds nicer. As they reached a more private spot in the hall, Tyro turned to the woman, suddenly at lost for words. Sha Q, with genuine intrigue in her olive green eyes, smiled and asked Tyro if there was something he wanted to talk about. The initial response from Tyro was a series of gurgling sound, followed by deep blush as Sha Q bit her lower lip to prevent herself from smiling.

"Uh, w-well…" Tyro cleared his throat. "I, um… I just wanted to tell you that… you… um, well, um, you know…" the giggles from the girls few feet away sent him deeper into awkwardness.

"Well, um…" Tyro began to fidget. "I, uh… um, n-nice belt."

_Nice belt?_

"Thank you", Sha Q replied, looking down at her ornate leather belt to hide her smile. "My mother made this. And, no, not from her hair."

"Oh, um, ha ha…" Tyro tried but miserably failed to laugh. "Funny… you're funny. Ah, I meant the joke! Y-your jokes are funny, not you. No, no! I mean I, uh… I mean, yeah, you're funny but not _that_ kind of funny… or maybe you are _that_ kind of funny, depending on what _that_ kind of funny means. Is it the bad one or… ng…"

At this, Sha Q actually sniffled, hiding her mouth behind her hand; the girls were positively laughing. Oh dear, how Tyro hope a boulder would come crashing down on him, hence sparing him from this humiliation and ending this miserable life of his…

_Sometimes you have to leap into the pond to know the water is cold…_

It was not meant to be, Zan Wa said. Well, Tyro could see why. She was so… _amazing_. And Tyro was so… _not_. There was only one of her, ever, Tyro was sure he would never ever felt this way about anyone ever again. While Tyro, he was 'a dime a dozen'. There were many other Tyros out there, some of them might even be better Tyros than Tyro himself. But, boys and girls, sometimes you have to leap into the pond to know the water is cold.

"You're funny", he said again, feeling an explosion of… something good in side his chest that renewed his courage as he let it all out. "Maybe it's the good funny, maybe it's not, but I like it about you", Sha Q stopped smiling, her eyes widened; Tyro continued. "And you're… beautiful. You're amazing. You're real. You're… I may no be good with words, but you are the most wonderful pers— no, I'll just say it: you're the most wonderful _woman_ I have ever met."

By this stage, Sha Q's mouth was slightly ajar, cheeks blushing under her face paint. Tyro took her hand and put it in his chest as he continued. "My Lady Sha Q, I know that I am unworthy but, I think I…" no, no fear was in Tyro's heart as he said. "I'm in love with you", which elicited a short gasp from Sha Q and several nearby spectators within earshot. And to this very day, Tyro still did not know what had given him the courage to say what he was about to say next. "And, therefore, I was wondering if you would give me the honor to…" he noticed Sha Q's eyes widened and the spectators feel into anticipative silence. "…write to you on regular basis?"

…

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, but remember: it happened in the olden days.

To his dismay, Sha Q slowly pulled her hand free from Tyro's grasp. She looked… well, actually better than Tyro had thought her refusal would be…

"_Never!" she screamed before her palm found its way to Tyro's face…_

Or…

"_What? God, no, ew…"_

Or…

"_You're too old for me."_

There was no malice or disgust in her smile; there was sympathy.

"Mr. Tyro", _oh, great! First she rejected him and now he's back to being 'Mr. Tyro'_. "Uh… It might have slipped my mind to explain to you about me being the next in line to be our tribe's Holy Priestess", she did told Tyro about it a few days back when they watched Lian together. "You see, as a Holy Priestess, I must remain… _pure_ until I am ready to pass on my position to my successor."

It was like being struck by stampeding rhino-bull…

"So… will it be somewhere before next Friday…?"

Sha Q laughed a little. "Traditionally, a Holy Priestess must serve the tribe for exactly forty years before she is allowed to resign."

"I'll be waiting for you…"

"I'll be sixty five."

"I'll still wait…"

Sha Q smiled as she took Tyro's hand. "No, you won't", she kissed his knuckle and release it; Tyro let his hand flew down limply, his other hand grasped his chest in a comical pained expression.

"You'll be fine", Sha Q chuckled. "A honk like you, you won't be short of female admirers."

"_Hunk_", Tyro corrected, smiling. Oh, woe… or not. For reasons unknown to him, Tyro felt no pain. Well, yeah sure, it sucked, but… what he was feeling was nothing of pain; he felt light, he felt… relieved. At least, he got to tell her what he really felt inside. How many men get that kind of chance?

But this fight had been lost…

The defeat had been much sweeter than Tyro originally thought, but it was a defeat nonetheless. This was not meant to be; they were not meant to be. Flashing his last smile, Tyro turned around and was about to exit the hall and get onto his bed and cried into his pillow when a soft hand caught his. He turned around to see the woman with face paint smiled lovingly at him as she pulled herself closer to him. She put her free hand on the side of his face, caressing his beard, as she said. "The rule may not allow me to be with you in holy monstrosity but it does not say anything about this…"

She tip-toed and they kissed…

They released themselves and Tyro corrected. "_Matrimony_…"

He hunched down and they kissed again…

* * *

"That's wrong", Umma commented, face frowned in disgust as they watched the romantic scene from the other side of the hall.

"Love cannot be wrong", Shian Li said, but under Iroh's inquisitive raised brow, he redressed. "Eh, scratch that. I don't know why I said that… after what happened to my second marriage…"

"Your surprisingly disturbing marriage life aside, Grand Lotus", Umma interrupted, more disgusted than before. "I believe you are about to brief us of what will become of Lian?"

"Was I?" he frowned at Umma, looking genuinely confused; however, under her withering stare, he knocked the senile-old-man routine aside. "I cannot keep her with me. There will be complications in the future."

"What should we do then?" asked Jeong Jeong.

"I'm glad you asked", beamed Shian Li, patting him on the shoulder.

"Let it be known that I am not volunteering", the admiral said quickly. "I have five sons, Master!"

"Well, not you specifically", Shian Li chuckled. "Your wife."

"She has five sons, too. The same sons I have!" protested Jeong Jeong incredulously. "That's the whole dynamic of our marriage."

"Well, you won't be troubled with the girl directly, of course", explained Shian Li, still grinning under his beard. "But, Umma, you will guide her."

"Me?" asked Umma.

"Yes", Shian Li sighed; looking up he spoke as if reminiscing. "I had a dream. In my dream, Lian was united with your bloodline and, from the union, one who would be your successor was born."

They fell silent; all those present in that group knew about Umma and her ancestry.

"I believe none of your five sons has any potential to succeed you, hmm?"

Umma shook her head slowly; her hand absentmindedly traced itself to the jade flute on her sash. Though both she and her husband were spiritually powerful, none of their five sons inherited any of their spiritual affinities.

"When the time is right, it will be made clear to you", Shian Li reassured her. "Your successor will be the most powerful one yet of your bloodline. He will play a great role in returning peace to the Four Nations. For the sake of our future, I must ask you to believe in this."

"If that is your wish, Master", Umma bowed.

"Good", Shian Li sighed and smiled tiredly; suddenly, his great age seemed real. "Lian's parents had been valuable allies to our Order. They will be missed."

"And Lian?" asked Jeong Jeong. "Am I to take her into my family?"

"Hmm? Oh, dear Lord, _no_", Shian Li shook his head, frowning.

"B-but, you just said—"

"I said Umma will guide her, not adopt her", Shian Li pointed out.

"B-but—"

"Well, even if I did say so, I'm a hundred and eighty five! Cut me some slack, will you?"

"You— but, I— Y-you said—"

Unable to stand the sight, Umma stepped in and held him, patting him as she would her youngest son Fu. "Shh… it's okay, dear. Don't fight it…"

"Anyway", Shian Li addressed the whole group again. "One of our contacts in Shu Jing has agreed to raise Lian."

"Shu Jing, Master?" asked Jian Wu.

"Yes, Shu Jing", Shian Li nodded. "Lian is a Fire Nation; she would be better off raised in her homeland. She will be fine with them. She'll have a good life and plenty of friends. Hmm, as I recall this family has a daughter about her age. Ursa, I believe she was called…"

* * *

The next morning, Tyro was already on the ship carrying him to Gaipan. Leaning on the railing on the dock, enjoying the sea breeze, he smiled as he thought back on everything he had been through. Lian had been somewhat reluctant of being separated from him; it took him awhile and many promises to write to her to peel the girl off his goodbye hug. Zan Wa, Jonsa, and many other Fire Nationals had left Shian Li's mansion right after the farewell party under the cover of the night with Jeong Jeong and his armada of warships. Many Water Tribe members had also left during the night, led by Karu and Pakku. Some elderly members would be provided transportation and escorts by the wealthy Grand Lotus on later date, and some other, mostly Earth Kingdom members left about the same time Tyro did. The angel with face paint, however, slipped away during the night.

Such a shame; Tyro would not mind a last glimpse of her…

They were not meant to be, he sighed… it was indeed a shame… And he would never love anyone like he did Sha Q, ever again…

He looked up to the sky above, the same sky he, a fifty three year old detainee, was looking at as he sat on the prison facility. They were not meant to be. It had been decades since the last he saw her, and there had not been any need for them to gather like they had done at that time, not during the last years of Shian Li's reign, nor now after Iroh took charge. He had never seen her again… And he had moved on, as he knew she had. Tyro had stayed in the military, remaining a captain. Few years after that, he would be sent once more to Si Wong Region where he made a name for himself; uniting the numerous sandbender tribes under his flag, repelling a Fire Nation force ten times his own led by the famous General Shu, and making himself a legend among the desert-dwellers, only to retire from the military soon after.

He still maintained contact with his friends, though; Zan Wa occasionally sent him some of his works (the unofficial ones), Tyro's favorite would remain what Zan Wa titled 'the Sleeping Brute' (half-nude with Jonsa as the model; painting drawn without his consent or knowledge); Jonsa sometimes sent him delicacies from their hometown in Red Pearl Island, with Tyro sending him back pickled river kelp that Jonsa seemed to have acquired a taste for; Li, the Fire Nation one (one of them, anyway), who was a brewer, often sent him some samples from his store, Tyro would sent him back his feedback on the product; Nami once sent him a letter wishing him a happy new year and, to Tyro's skipping heart delight, informed him that she had been keeping in touch with Sha Q and she was doing well as a Holy Priestess.

And Lian; Tyro kept his promise. On one of Zan Wa's letters, he informed Tyro of the news about Lian finally settling in Shu Jing and her new postal address. Tyro promptly sent her a letter and she became the most faithful of Tyro's correspondences. Tyro was among those she kept in contact with to the day she died, the ones who were with her on every meaningful events in her life through letters; Tyro remembered sending her a pair of emerald earrings on her tenth birthday, a make-up set on her sixteenth, a pearl handled mirror on her wedding day, a pack of rare ginseng when she was pregnant, he even made a special trip to Garsai to get her some of the region's famous pickled grape sweets for her pregnancy craving. And when Umma wrote to him, informing him of Lian's death and the birth of her son, Tyro wept like he had never wept before.

And just a few seasons ago; Tyro had met him, her legacy: Lian's son… oh, how he looked like her…

Tyro the prisoner sniffed back his tears; he had to be strong, he had to look strong for his fellow inmates. So many memories; his first time serving as a Lotus, his first love, real love, in his youth, and Lian… it was bittersweet.

It was very meaningful to Tyro, for it was when he met her for the first time. It was on the ship that was carrying him home. He was a thirty something man with a broken heart and a vow to never let it heal. She was walking past him by when the ship went through a rough wave; she lost her balance and fell, literally, into Tyro's arms.

As she apologized to him and Tyro's jaw fell to the floor in the presence of her beady green eyes and cherry red lips, one thought, and one thought only, raced though the thirty something unmarried uncommitted Vanguard Captain's mind.

_What a babe…_

* * *

**_Author's note:_**

Names:

1. Zan Wa; from Japanese 'zan' (斬), meaning 'cut', and Korean 'hwa' (画) meaning 'draw' as in 'drawing a picture' or 'stroke', as in 'a brush stroke'

2. Jonsa, from Korean 'jeonsa' (전사), which means 'warrior' 3. Sha Q, from Japanese 'sakyu', which means 'sand dune'

4. Suna, Japanese word for 'sand'

5. Shian Li; from the words 'lian' and 'si', first letters rearranged, which mean 'lotus' and 'rock' respectively in Chinese.

6. Takkuro; from two random words I found from flipping a dictionary, translated roughly into Japanese: 'big' (ta) and 'black' (kuro)

7. Nami, Japanese word for 'ocean'

8. Ryogen, a real historical Japanese monk-warrior

9. Ji, Japanese word for 'uncle'

10. Di, Chinese for 'younger brother'

11. Nojo, Japanese word for 'farm'

Oh, and yataghan is real. Check wiki out, there's a nice picture there. It really is a beautiful piece of weaponry.

And, about the other names… well, I kinda forgot where I got them. Sorry… Writing this chapter took longer than I thought and by the time I'm finished with the names, I have already misplaced my notes or lost the pages in my books and dictionaries. Most of them were just random words, though.

Anyway, enjoy!


End file.
